Save Article

A Lovely 'Rocket' Arrives Under the Radar

A boy leads his family and friends through Laos to find a new home. After a calamity-filled journey, he builds a giant rocket to enter the most exciting and dangerous competition of the year: the Rocket Festival. (Photo/Video: Kino Lorber)

A special pleasure of moviegoing is sitting down with low expectations and coming out with surprised delight. "The Rocket" will do that for you, even though your expectations will have risen somewhat if you've read this far.

It's a small film, set in Laos, with a big theme—changing one's destiny. The hero, 10-year-old Ahlo, carries a curse almost from birth. He's supposed to be bad luck, and he does have a gift for creating chaos wherever he goes. But he has the great luck to be played by a former street kid, Sitthiphon...